Pet books we like...

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Adding another tofu dish to our list of favorites...

While we have not prepared a ton of recipes with tofu, the ones we have tried have been fairly successful and did not turn us off. One of the recipes that was a little unusual, but stood out for us and we really enjoyed was the Coconut-Crusted Tofu with Peach-Lemongrass Salsa.

Another recipe that we quite enjoyed was the Peanut-Crusted Tofu Triangles - I've been wanting to make this one again, but use cashews instead of peanuts.

So why am I bringing these all back up? Well, tonight's dinner, Sesame-Maple Roasted Tofu, is one I definitely want to add to our favorite list.

Cubed extra-firm tofu is tossed with sliced red onions, canola oil and toasted sesame oil - the mixture is slid into a fiery oven and roasted until the onions begin to caramelize and the tofu gets a light golden color. When ready, crunchy sugar snap peas are added and the mixture is drizzled with a combination of tahini (sesame seed paste), soy sauce, pure maple syrup and cider vinegar that will transform in the oven from a liquid-y pool into a lip-smacking glaze that coats the tofu and veggies. Right before serving, a scattering of nutty toasted sesame seeds round out the dish. I didn't know if I would like the tahini mixed with the strong maple syrup, but the sweetness from the syrup married with the richness of the tahini quite well - you could substitute natural peanut butter if you don't already have tahini on hand.

To make the dish a little more hearty, we did serve this over a bed of noodles and would do this again as it made the meal just filling enough. The only thing I would do differently is double the savory, yet delicately sweet glaze that added such a mouthwatering bang to the finished product.